Tuesday, 26 October 2010

We have just began the second term here at Kuopion Muotoiluakatemia. Dropping Textiles in favour of Ceramic and Glass Design, I'm already feeling completely different about my attitude to the work. The textiles section was fun but there was nothing new in the disciplines studied - felting, weaving, basic print and basketry were all covered in first year of university at Huddersfield. It was nice to be able to revisit these practices, but I found studying them for a whole term to be quite tedious, especially as 'innovation' and 'pushing boundaries' isn't explored or encouraged too much on this course. I came here to learn new skills, and so far I've only produced work which I could create back at home.

This is why I'm so excited about the upcoming Glass and Ceramics term. In secondary school we had excellent ceramic facilities and I appreciate the skills I was taught during those 5 years. I also had very basic experience in glass blowing and moulding, which I really enjoyed. However, since leaving school in 2006 I haven't had any other chances to develop in these fields.
The opportunity to study in a different discipline from textiles for a whole term is something I'm really looking forward to. For me, working within the same context for long periods of time can have negative results. As a printer I'm constantly made to think about how my drawings can translated to prints - and to a certain degree this has narrowed down my style to be 'print-friendly'. I feel that being exposed to a completely different working routine - such as clay or glass, can only benefit my work, as I will have to entirely redefine my designing process to suit such materials.
Our tutors in Huddersfield are constantly pushing us to blur boundaries within textiles, and this is something I'd really like to explore during this term. How can I take my experience from textiles and translate it into ceramics? Can I manipulate glass as if it were a textile? What are the differences between clay and textile, if any?

I can only hope that my enthusiasm to start this course will be obvious in the work I produce.